Visäkhä-Kunda at Uddhava Kyari

H H Bhakti Caru Swami 2010 - 0015

H H Bhakti Caru Swami 2010 - 0016

H H Bhakti Caru Swami 2010 - 0035

H H Bhakti Caru Swami 2010 - 0036

H H Bhakti Caru Swami 2010 - 0017

Visäkhä-Kunda at Uddhava Kyari

Uddhava-kyäri, which is also known as Kadamba-kyäri, is situated a short distance from Lalitä-kund to the south-east.

Actually, this is the kunja of Visäkhä, and Visäkhä-Kunda lies nearby. In this secluded and beautiful place surrounded by kadamba trees, Visäkhä used to arrange meetings between Rädhä and Krihsna. Sometimes, Krishna also used to perform the Räsa dance here with Rädhä ji and her friends. There is a platform here reminding us of that pastime. Rädhä and Krishna also enjoyed many kinds of watersports in the clear and fragrant water of Visäkhä-Kund.

After Shri Krishna’s departure to Mathurä, all of Vraja drowned in an ocean of separation from Him. What to speak of the gopas and gopis, even the birds and animals gave up eating and drinking feeling distressed in separation from Krishna. Krishna’s beloved gopis followed Akrüra’s chariot to this point and then fell to the ground unconscious. They never returned home again. Grievously afflicted by separation from Krishna, Rädhä ji stayed in this dense forest in seclusion. In the hope of Krishna’s return, She counted each passing day, remaining on the verge of death. At that time, Krishna’s messenger Uddhava came here to console the gopis but, upon seeing Shri Rädhikä’s state of separation, he paid his respects to her from afar, unable to say anything.

Acutely afflicted by separation, Shri Rädhikä saw a bumblebee and thought it to be Krishna’s messenger. In the state of divyonmäda, She started manifesting citrajalpa, prajalpa and other moods of transcendental madness. Sometimes She chastised the bee, and sometimes She complained to it. Sometimes She gave the bee instructions, sometimes respects and sometimes She inquired from it about the well-being of Her beloved.

Uddhava was amazed to see and hear all this. He had come as a teacher to give instructions but instead he became a student. To console the gopis, he relayed some of Krishna’s messages to them, but this only intensified their pain of separation.

They said, “Udho man na bhayo das bis, ek huto so gayo syäm sanga, ko ärädhe isa – Uddhava, we do not each have ten or twenty hearts. We had only one, which has now gone away along with Syäma. With which heart shall we now worship God?”

In the end, Uddhava desired to take birth in Vraja in the form of a small shrub, creeper or blade of grass so that he could be blessed with the dust of the gopis’ feet. He worshipped their foot-dust as follows:

“If I become a shrub, creeper or medicinal herb here in Vrindävana, it will be my great fortune. I shall then be able to serve the dust of these gopis’ feet, and will be blessed by bathing in that foot-dust. These gopis are the most fortunate of all. They have given up those things that are extremely difficult to renounce – their relatives, religious principles prescribed in the Vedas, and acceptable social conduct. Having become so completely absorbed in Krishna, they have obtained His supreme prema and become as worshipful as He is.”

Srimad Bhagwatam (10.47.61 )

“I bow down to the dust of the feet of the gopis residing in Nanda Bäbä’s Vraja. Oh, whatever these gopis have sung about Krishna’s pastimes is purifying the whole world and will continue to do so.”

Srimad Bhagwatam (10.47.63 )

This pastime place is filled with the Rasa of topmost meeting (Mahä-Sambhoga) and at the same time, it is filled with the rasa of the highest degree of separation (mahä-vipralambha). The life ofa sädhaka becomes successful by taking darsana of and touchingthis place.